Joshua Boyle speaks to the media after arriving at the airport in Toronto on Friday, October 13, 2017. Boyle was arrested by Ottawa police late last month and made his first court appearance on New Year’s Day facing 15 charges, including eight counts of assault, two of sexual assault, two of unlawful confinement and one count of causing someone to take a noxious thing. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Former hostage Joshua Boyle appears in court

Boyle is facing 15 charges, including assault, sexual assault, unlawful confinement and causing someone to take a noxious thing

Former Afghanistan hostage Joshua Boyle made a brief video appearance in an Ottawa court today on a string of assault charges.

Boyle’s case continues to inch along, and he is due to make another routine appearance next Monday.

Boyle was arrested by Ottawa police late last month and faces 15 charges, including eight counts of assault, two of sexual assault, two of unlawful confinement and one count of causing someone to take a noxious thing.

The charges against the 34-year-old relate to two alleged victims, but a court order prohibits the publication of any details that might identify them or any witnesses.

None of the charges — related to incidents that allegedly occurred between Oct. 14 and Dec. 30, after Boyle returned to Canada from his Afghan captivity — have been tested in court.

Boyle and his American wife, Caitlan Coleman, were taken hostage in 2012 by a Taliban-linked group while on a backpacking trip in Afghanistan.

The couple, and the three children they had during their five years in captivity, were finally freed by Pakistani forces last October.